AC211 - FORMATION OF MODERN AMERICAN CULTURE II

FINAL TAKE-HOME ESSAY EXAM

INSTRUCTIONS: Please write two essays in response to the following questions. Answer one question from each section. Your cumulative essay should be 3-5 pages (typed, double-spaced) and your shorter essay should be 2-4 pages (typed, double-spaced). Your responses are due before the end of exam period (absolutely no later than May 20). You are encouraged to consult all of the assigned materials for the course, but please do not discuss your responses with other members of the class.

Please include the honor pledge with your completed exam.

PART I -- CUMULATIVE ESSAY (3-5 pages, typed, double-spaced)

Instructions: Please respond to one of the following two questions:

OPTION 1:
Throughout this course, we have considered the interaction of public and private, individual and collective, in the construction of American cultural identity. Focusing on three historically distinct examples, at least one of which reflects American culture before 1950, discuss the interrelationship of private and public, or self and community, in American cultural life. What aspects of that interrelationship have remained constant? What aspects have changed over time, and why?

OPTION 2:
From the early twentieth century to the present, Americans have adopted different perspectives on the American dream. Focusing on examples from at least three historical periods, at least one of which predates 1950, discuss competing definitions of the American dream. You might also discuss how different cultural forms have been used to express and comment on the American dream.

PART II -- SHORT ESSAY (2-4 pages, typed, double-spaced)

Instructions: Please respond to one of the following four questions:

OPTION 1:
In the period 1950-2001, how did the evolution of television and/or other mass-mediated cultural forms reshape the patterns of everyday life? In your response, be sure to cite at least three examples, each from a different time period.

OPTION 2:
Since 1950, American political culture has undergone many twists and turns. In your essay, discuss how Americans' attitude toward government and civic identity changed in the period 1950-2001. Please draw on texts from at least three historical moments.

OPTION 3:
The period 1950-2001 witnessed the emergence of many cultural rebellions.
In your essay, discuss at least three instances of cultural rebellion. How have such rebellions enriched the process of American cultural formation?

OPTION 4:
The practice of defining American manhood in opposition to American womanhood persisted in the period 1950-2001. In your essay, discuss at least three "crisis moments" in the construction of American masculinity. How has the process of reconstructing American manhood relied on corresponding redefinitions of American womanhood in the period 1950-2001?